Brake operating mechanism



Feb. 18, 1947.

P. B. CAMP BRAKE OPERATING MECHANISM Filed May 29, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet lp Zgmox BY fdy B My? P. B. CAMP I 2,416,251

BRAKE OPERATING MECHANISM Feb. 18, 1947.

Filed May 29, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Pena B. Cam BY 7; z I 4flit/,5

7 P. B. CAMP BRAKE OPERATING MECHANISM Feb. 18, 1947.

Filed May 29, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i ITNVENTOR. Perayg [am z PatentedFeb. l8, l947 BRAKE OPERATING MECHANISM Percy'B. Camp, Maywood, Ill.,assignor to Universal Railway Devices Company, a corporar tion ofDelaware I Application May-29', 194s, SerialNo. 488,983 1 F1 Claims.(01. 74-505) This invention relates to brakes for railway cars, and moreparticularly to the type of brake that is manually operated. One of theobjects of the invention is the provision of new and improved brakeoperating mechanism in which the release of the brake is automaticallyaccomplished by reverse movement of the brake wheel.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedbrake operating mechanism that is so constructed that the operatingparts are greatly simplified and materially reduced in number.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedbrake operating mechanism that requires merely the turning of the wheelin winding direction for applying the brakes and reverse movement forreleasing the winding mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a brake operatingmechanism in which the release of the brake is accomplished by anintermittent reverse movement of the brake Wheel for releasing thewinding mechanism.-

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedbrake operating mechanism for railway cars having novel means forautomatically oiling the journals of the operating mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is the pro- 1 vision of a newand improved brake mechanism that is simple in construction, composed offew moving parts, inexpensive to manufacture, and automatic in clutchingand declutching the brake shaft to the brake pinion by initial rotationof and parts broken away, of a portion of the brake operating mechanism;V

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig.3; Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview. of aportion of the brake operating and, clutch mechanism, showingthe clutch in release position;

Fig. 6 is a similar view, showing the clutch in applied position; and V,

s Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one ofthe clutch mnd, I

- anism 2 V r Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a portion of the casing,with parts broken away. 'It is highly desirable, in railwayvbrakes,.that the brake operating mechanism be so construct-- ed that itwill not ben'ecessary for thebrakeman to release either hand from thebrake. wheel during either the application or release of the brakes, andin view of severe weather conditions in certain portions of the countryin Winter, as where mixed rainand sleet are not uncommon, it is alsodesirable that the mechanism for re leasingthe brakes be of the simplesttype, requiring the manual movement of a minimum number of exposedmoving parts. H

In the present invention the brake operating mechanism, except the brakeWheel and a portion of the brake shaft, are protected from rain, snowand ice by a housing or casing, and the parts are so constructed thatthe brake wheel is the sole member to be manipulated by the hands of theoperator in. applying the brakes, or in releasing the same. Theclutching and dcclutching of the operating mechanism is'doneautomatically during the initial turning .of the brake wheel.

Referring nowto the drawings, the reference .character .lll designatesan end of a railway car, to which is applied the brake operatingmechj-H. This mechanism comprises abrake housing I2, having, an inner sectionI3 and an outer section I 8 providing a partition at itslower portion.The inner section I3 is rigidly connected to the end Of the railway. carin any suitable manner, as by bolts or rivets engaging thebrack ets H.The section I3 of the housing is pro.- vided with a brake shaft bearingl5, and at its lower portion it is provided, in any suitable man.- ner,with an oil recess or reservoir ",fls shown more clearly in Fig. 2 of,the drawing. The outer section I8 of the housing i secured to the innersection l3 in any suitable manner, as by, means of bolts l9, whichrigidly hold theparts together. The meeting edges of the two sections.of. the housing maybe provided withra groove or. recess -2l, extendingabout the edge of the housing,;.and .thisgrooveis adapted to contain agasket 22.for rendering the casing oil -proof. r I The outer section l8of the casing is provided with an oil recess orreservoir 23, which isformed in any suitable manner, as by a partition 16 yvhich extendsupwardly from the outer portion of the section l8, then inwardly, andthen down wardly; between the inner and outer walls 1 of the housing l2.This reservoir is adapted-to :containoil for lubricating certain of theparts,

introduced into the reservoir 23, and when this reservoiris' filled itwill run over into'the reser- V voir I! for assisting in lubricatingother parts 1 of the mechanism, as will be hereinafter de- 1 scribed.

J ournaled in the upper portion of the housing, and engaging the bearingI5 on the inner section and a bearing 25 on the outer section, is thebrake shaft 26.

It will be noted that the bearing i5 does not extend through the inner jsection of the casing, but the shaft 25 extends outwardly through thesection I8. I The shaft 26 is provided with a tapered end -21, angular Il in cross-section, on which the brake wheel is 1 adapted to be secured,as by means of .-a nut or 1 the like, on the reduced threaded endlfi ofthe shaft, as is usual in such constructions.

Rotatably mounted in the lower portion of the housing, is the hub 29 ofa brake drum gear- 33 which forms the brake drum shaft, and which isjournaled at its inner endin a bearing in the partition 16, and atitsouter end it is re- 1 duced to form a journal thatengages in a bearjing. 31 in the. outer section of the casing I8,

The brake drum 32 is connected to the hub .29

1 in any suitable manner, and turns therewith. The connection betweenthe brake drum 32 and the brake drum shaft or hub 29 is such as torequire no keys or gibs, and hence dispenses with the expense ofmachining ways for the same.

As shown, the intermediateportionof the hub 29 has a plurality ofradially extending eccentric or cam. projections 66, forming shoulders10,.at. opposite sides of the hub. The periphcries of these projectionsare inclined and engage corresponding openings through the drum, havingcooperating inclined eccentric surfaces ,80, forming shoulders 90, onits walls opposite the .shoulders 10, whereby when the gear 33 turned inthe direction to apply the brakes a Rigidly mounted on the inner end ofthe shaft 29 is a brake drum gear 33, which is adapted to engage apinion 34 rotatably mounted on the inner end of the shaft 26, as shownin Fig. 2 of the. drawing. The brake shaft 26 is adapted to be clutchedto the pinion 34 by an eccentric clutch mechanism that will now bedescribed.-

' Rigidly mounted on the shaft (Figs. 6 and '7") as by being integraland rotatable therewith, .is a clutch operating cam member 35, which isadapted to engage a plurality of clutch or fricrtion shoes 36, 31 (twobeing shown). The cam member 35 isenlarged radially opposite the shoes,as shown at '38, 33, Figs. 5 and 6. In other words, in the form shownthe periphery of the cam member 35 has-inclined or wedge faces 'eachother and are opposite the inner portions of Rotatably mounted on the.shaft .25 iS,-a ratchet-wheel 43, having a drum the cam. members.

member -4n .provided with an interior friction drum surface, whichisconcentric with the as will presently appear. The casingis provided 1with an opening 24 through which oil may be i 4 shaft 26 and is adaptedto be engaged by th outer surfaces of the clutch or friction shoes 36,31.

lhe shoes 36,. 31, are curved, and are wedgeshaped or tapered, and onthe thicker end each has an outwardly extending driving lug 46 which ispreferably, though not necessarily, circular in cross-section. Theselugs 46 are arranged opposite each other, and each operates in the spacedefined by the walls 4!, 42, between the inner surface of the drummember 44 and the periph- 38, 33,-will wedge the shoes 38, 31, againstthe inner periphery of the drum member to cause the ratchet wheel 43 torotate with the shaft 26.

The pinion 34, Fig. 3,.is rotatably mounted on the shaft 26, and-isrigidly connectedto or integral with a clutch operating disc member '41,

which in turn is keyed to the shoes 45 in any suitable manner. As shown,the disc member 41 is provided with peripheral recesses 48 within whichthe driving lugs 46 are adap-tedto seat, It will thus be seen that inthe operation of the device, when the brake shaft 26 is rotatedclockwise the cam clutch operating members 38, 39, will cam the shoes36, 31, outwardly against the inner periphery 4t of the ratchet drummember 40 on the ratchet wheel 43. This clutching arrangement causes theratchet wheel 43, and with it the entire clutch mechanism, to rotatewith the shaft 26, thus rotating the pinion 34, and this pinion willrotate the brake drum gear 33, and with it the drum 32, for winding upthe brake chain 56 for applying the brake in the usual manner. I -Aplurality of pawls 49 and 5!, Fig. 1', are employed for preventing thebackward rotation of the shaft 26, whether the brakeis being applied orbeing released, and for holding the brakes set in holding position.These pawls are mounted on. pivots 52, 52a, Figs. 1 and 2, which aremounted in the outer section of the casing, as shown in these figures ofthe drawing. 'The inner ends of these pivots. are journaled in apartition 52 integral with the section [8 of the housing, Fig. 2. Each.of the pawlsv is provided with av spring 53 for holding. the sameagainst the teeth of the ratchet. The pawls are so arranged that whenone of them is in holding poe sition the other is out of holdingposition, so that the ratchet will be held at all times against reversemovement. When it is desiredto release the brake all that is necessaryis to initially rotate the hand wheel in the reverse direction, and thismovement will release the cam members of the clutch mechanism and permitthe brake drum to freely rotate in reverse direction independently ofthe brake shaft, for a partial reverse rotation of the drum and discmember 41. Further reverse 'rotative movement offthe disc 47, withoutfurther reverse rotation of the shaft '28, will cause a wedging actionof the wedge shoes 36 and 31, thus preventing further release of thebrake until the hand wheel and brake shaft 25 are further reverselyrotated, It

will thus. be seen that the brakes are released-by an intermittentreverse movement 'of the hand .wheel or brake shaft 26'.- v

The described arrangement may be considered as comprising a railwaybrake mechanism, an actuating means and clutch means tor -opera:

tively connecting the actuating means withthe mechanism. In such 'ananalysis, the brake mechanism includes the brake drum 32 carrying thechain 50, the'shaft or hub 29 onwhich the brake drum is mounted, thebrake drum gear 33 and the pinion 34. The actuating means is rep:resented by the brake shaft 26. The clutch means includes the cam member35 as an inner clutch member with an outwardly presented clutch surfaceand the drum member as an outer clutch member with an inwardly presentedclutch surface. The two clutch surfaces form a tapered space for eachclutchshoe 3'! and obviously either or both of the clutch surfaces maybe eccentricto provide such taper. Whilein the. preferred embodiment of.the invention shown in the drawings the actuating means is connected tothe inner clutch member and a ratchet means is employed to .blockreverse ro-. tation of the outer clutch member, it is conceivable thatin some practices of the invention the actuating means may be directlyconnected to the outer clutch .memberand the ratchet means employed toprevent reverse rotation of the inner clutch member. i

Suitable means are provided for automatically oiling the journaled parts,of..-..the. operating mechanism. In the form of construction shown, thereservoirs I! and 23.are supplied withoil at intervals of time,asrequired, and means are provided for transferring thisoil to thebearings. The bearings for the drum shaft 29 are lubricated in a mannerthat will nowbe described. The brake gear. 33 extends down into thereservoir II. and this gear is provided on its inner side with aplurality of radially extending ribs 54, Fig. 3, extending laterallyinwardly from the spokes 55. The ends of each of these ribs adjacent thehub 29 has a projection 64, flattened, as at 65, Figs. 1 and 3, andthese projections are adapted to engage a circular abutment member 66,integral with the inner section of the housing l3, for limiting theinward move ment of the drum. The abutting portions of the projectionsand abutment member are flattened to give a broad bearing surface, asshown in Fig. 1.

These ribs 54 extend at their inner ends into the inner end of the hub56 of the gear 33, which has an axial opening with its walls inclinedtoward the outer end of the hub. At their outer ends these ribs connectwith the rim 5'! of the gear and are flush therewith. This forms whatmay be termed a pocket-58 for collecting oil as the gear rotates throughthe reservoir IL: and when the rib 54 turns to the inclined positionshown at the left in Fig. 3 the oil collected will run downwardlyalongthe rib 54 into the inner end of the hub 56 and along the inclined wallsof the opening in the hub to the outer bearing 3| of the gear. The innerbearing 25 of the hub 56 will be supplied with oil that adheres to theouter side of the gear and runs down the spoke into the end of thebearing. Oil adhering to the teeth'of the gear 33 will be carried to theteeth of the pinion 34 for oiling the bear ing l 5, and will also oilthe teeth of the pinion.

Suitable means are provided for oiling the bearing 25 of the brake shaft26. As shown, a collar 62 on the shaft 26 has a circular peripheral face6| on which is mounted an oil ring 63, which dips into the oil in thereservoir 23, and the rotation of the shaft 26 will rotate the oil ring63 for carrying oil to the upper portion of the bearing 25 forlubricating the same. The

oil ring 63 is wider than the face 6|. of the collar. 62, and its outeredge extends over and engages;

a segmental flange or rib 61 on the outer. section of the housing l8 andwhich curves over:

5 the shaft 26 as a center. The outer face of thecollar 62 may beinclined inwardly towardltscircumference, so as to form a V-shapedspace. for conducting oil from the oil ring down into the bearing 25 forlubricating the same.

I It will thus be seen that the principal operating parts of the brakeare housed in a weatherproof casing; that the operating parts arelubricated; and that the clutch mechanism is automatic in its operation,whereby upon release the brake limited distance and then the wedge or Icam mechanism locks the drum from further turning until the brake wheeland shaft are again initially rotated for again releasing the clutchmechanism. Thus the brake may be released step by step with out thenecessity of releasing pawls or other'hold ing means except the cammechanism, which is operated automatically by the reverse turning of thebrake wheel and shaft. By means of this arrangement both hands of theoperator are free for manipulating the brake wheel for both applying andfor releasing the brakes. This is considered animportant feature of theinvention, since the operator can concen; trate on the operation of thebrake wheel alone and is not required to hold the wheel with one handwhile releasing pawls or turning levers with the other, as is requiredin the conventional construction when releasing or adjusting the brakes.

It is thought from the foregoing, taken in connection' with theaccompanying drawings, that the operation and construction of my devicewill be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that changes in size,shape, proportion and details may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as myinventio-n: v i 1. In means for controlling a railway brakemechanism, an inner clutch member having-an outwardly presented clutchsurface, an outer clutch member having an inwardly presented clutchsurface, at least one of said two surfaces being at least in parteccentric whereby the two surfaces form at least one space tapering inthe rotary direction of brake release, one of said clutch members beingadapted for actuation-to energize said mechanism, means to blockrotation of the other clutch member in brake-releasing direction, and aclutch shoe in said space to re- 55 tractibly wedge between said twosurfaces there by to interconnect the two clutch members and to rotatetherewith, said clutch shoe being connected with said mechanism foroperation thereof. 2. In means for controlling a railway brake 60mechanism, a combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said clutchshoe is tapered in accord with the tapering configuration of said space.

3. In means for controlling a railway brake mechanism, an inner clutchmember having an 65 outwardly presented clutch surface, an outer clutchsurface having an inwardly presented clutch surface, at least one ofsaid two surfaces having a plurality of eccentric portions whereby thetwo surfaces form a plurality of spaces tapering in the rotary directionof brake release, said plurality of spaces being equally distributedclrcumferentially, one of said clutch members being adapted foractuation to energize said mechanism, means to block rotation of theother clutch mem- 76 her in brake-releasing direction, and a pluralitydrum rotates independently of the brake shaft a arage 1;

of clutch shoes corresponding to 'saidplurality of spaces, each clutchshoe extending into the corresponding space to retractibly wedge betweensaid two surfaces thereby to interconnect the two clutch members and atsuch time to rotate therewith in a unitary manner, said clutch shoesbeing connected with said mechanism for operation said outer clutchmember in the opposite; direc--,

tion and at least one clutch shoe in said space to retractibly wedgebetween 7, said two I surfaces thereby to interconnect the two clutchmembers and to rotate therewith, said clutch shoe being connected withsaid mechanism for operation thereof.

5; In means for use in controlling a brake mechanism by abrake-actuating means, an inner clutch member for connection with saidactuating means, said inner member having an outwardly presented clutchsurface, an outer clutch member surrounding said inner clutch member,said outer clutch member having an inwardly presented clutch surface, atleast one of said surfaces having a plurality of eccentric portionswhereby the two surfaces form a plurality of spaces tapering in onedirection of rotation, means to block rotation of said outer clutchmember in the opposite direction, and a plurality of clutch shoescorresponding to said plurality of spaces, each clutch shoe extendinginto the corresponding space to retractibly wedge between said twosurfaces thereby to interconnect thetwo clutch members and at such timeto rotate therewith in a unitary manner, said clutch shoes beingconnected with said mechanism for operation thereof. 1 i

6. In means for use in controlling a railway brake mechanism "by abrake-actuating means, an inner clutch member for connection with saidactuating means, said inner clutch member having an outwardly presentedclutch surface, said outer clutch surface having a plurality ofeccentric portions equally distributed circumferentially, an outerclutch member surrounding said inner clutch member, said outer clutchmember having an inwardly presented cylindrical surface whereby said twosurfaces form a plurality of spaces tapering in one direction ofrotation, ratchet means to block rotation of said outer clutch member inthe opposite direction of rotation, and a plurality of clutchshoescorresponding to said plurality of spaces, each'clutch shoe extendinginto the corresponding space to retractibly wedge. between'said twosurfaces thereby to interconnect the two clutch members and at such timeto rotate therewith in a unitary manner, said clutch shoes beingconnected with said mechanism for operation thereof.

7. In means for releasably connecting a brakeactuating shaft to arailway brake mechanism, an inner clutch member fixedly mounted on saidshaft, said inner clutch member having an outwardly presented clutchsurface, anouter clutchmember surrounding said inner clutch member, saidouter clutch member having an inwardly presented clutch surface, atleast one of said two surfaces being at least in part eccentric wherebythe two surfaces form at least one space tapering in the rotarydirection of brake release, means to block rotation. of said outerclutch member in the direction of brake release, at least one clutchshoe in said space to retractibly wedge between said two surfacesthereby to interconnect the two clutch members and at such time torotate therewith, and means rotatable about the axis of said shaft, saidrotatable means being operatively connected with said mechanism foractuation thereof and being operatively connected with said shoe foractuation therebyc PERCY B. CAMP.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,268,228 Van Cleave' Dec. 30,1941 2,299,402 Mersereau Oct. 20, 1942 2,310,135 Van Cleave Feb. 2, 19432,313,602 Van Cleave Mar. 9, 1943 2,053,419 Brecht Sept. 8, 19361,755,841 Sandstrom Apr. 22, 1930 2,265,376 Klasing Dec. 9, 19412,189,978 Dyk Feb. 13, 1940 654,620 Garver July 31, 1900 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 454,273 Germany Jan. 4, 1928

